1. Technical Field
Embodiments generally relate to power management in computing platforms. More particularly, embodiments relate to intelligently managing device buffers in order to optimize computing platform idle state residency.
2. Discussion
Computing platforms may use idle states to reduce power consumption, wherein input output (IO) devices on the platform may buffer data intended for the platform while the platform is in a given idle state. In particular, an IO device might allocate some of its buffer space to a period of time corresponding to the idle state residency (e.g., idle duration) and some of the buffer space to a time period corresponding to the platform's exit from the idle state (e.g., resume duration, latency tolerance). If an insufficient amount of buffer space is allocated to the idle duration, the IO device may issue break events (e.g., interrupts) that force the platform to exit the idle state in question prematurely, which may in turn have a negative impact on energy efficiency. Moreover, the buffer space allocation for latency tolerance may be determined in conventional solutions based on a maximum (e.g., “worst case”) line speed, wherein such an approach may either limit the platform to using relatively shallow idle states or require an increase in buffer space to account for the worst case scenario.